1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a gas/liquid fill assembly for use in a heat exchanging cooler, such as an evaporative cooling tower, or generally for use in other devices which require a body to effect the contact of a gas with a liquid, such as in a chemical scrubbing apparatus. More particularly, this invention relates to a fill assembly which is composed of layers or sheets made with folds or corrugations between which channels or passageways penetrating through the fill assembly are formed. The gas and liquid are caused to act upon one another during their passage through the channels, such action being performed under cross-flow or counter-flow. In a heat exchanger, the interaction of the gas and liquid causes the gas to be moistened and the liquid to be cooled.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fill assemblies comprising parallelly disposed sheets have long been recognized in the art as an effective gas/liquid contact body for heat exchanging cooling towers.
The sheets may be corrugated as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,682, issued July 26, 1966 to Sven Bredberg. The corrugations help to distribute the liquid gravitating through the fill assembly. They also cause the gas to flow in a circuitous path through the assembly thereby resulting in greater gas/liquid contact and increased cooling efficiency.
A fill assembly made of expanded metal or expanded polyvinyl chloride sheets is also known in the art, as illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 3,346,246, issued Oct. 10, 1967 to Charles Loetel et al. As described in the '246 specification, the sheets are formed with diamond-shaped openings having their major axes disposed either vertically or horizontally.